The Most Important Thing
by Newtype Zeta
Summary: Another look at the night and thoughts that changed Kira Yamato's life forever......all over again.


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The Most Important Thing

A Gundam Seed Destiny Story - by NewtypeZeta

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For some reason, I'm restless tonight.

I'm not sure why, but sleep has eluded me for some hours now. The best I have been able to get was a catnap some hours ago, but even that brief respite brought me no peace.

Suddenly, I hear a small voice ring out from down the hall. I slowly open my untired eyes and sit up in bed, ignoring the soft night-light glow coming from my laptop's screen.

_That sounded like Pink-chan..._

Curious, I shove the covers off and head for the door to investigate the small robot's unusual disturbance. The small pink bot rarely made a peep during the nighttime hours for the sake of letting the children sleep.

_It's not like I'll get any sleep anyway._

I become even more tense as my hand touches the doorknob for reasons only my subconscious probably knows and I open the door with some trepidation.

I'm greeted by a very unfamiliar sight, Andy Waldfeld hefting her customized pistol and a look of grim resolve. For a brief instant, my imagination runs wild and I begin to think that he's finally snapped over the loss of Ms. Aisha and has come to exact his revenge. My tongue seems tied at the moment, but I manage somehow...

"What's the matter?"

His look of grim resolve fades only slightly as he responds.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We have some unwelcome guests. Go get Lacus and the kids with Captain Ramius!"

_Oh shit..._ My brain quickly catches up with reality and I instantly obey the man whom I've come to regard as a favorite uncle of sorts.

"Hai."

I dash back into my room, shucking of my night shirt after I'm through the door. My pants follow and now all that's left are my briefs. I quickly retrieve my black leather pants and put them on along with my red undershirt in the span of a few moments. I grab my leather jacket off a nearby chair and quickly grab some essentials off the dresser; pocket knife, loose change, nail clippers, and other handy tools go into my pockets. I grab my jacket again and sprint for the door, glancing in a certain direction out of habit...

I screech to a halt and hesitate only an instant before I step towards the small lamp table by the door and rip the drawer clean out. I raise it above my head in a fit of near panic...

_To think I almost left it behind...!_

I slam the whole thing down onto the floor, shattering it and revealing the false bottom I'd built into it. Shoving the flat board aside, I grasped the object of my search; a small black velvet tie-string bag inside a sealed plastic bag. Quickly, I place it into my pocket as well and head out the door, grabbing my jacket for the third time as I go.

As I'm running to the room that Lacus shares with the orphans, I put on my jacket and buckle it securely. After meeting my mother and Father Malchio in the halls as they left their rooms, we arrived at the children's room and opened the door to find that Murrue was already and had woken everyone up. I almost didn't realize that I had called out Lacus's name as I barged in without so much as knocking.

Then we heard a pane-glass window shatter no more than twenty yards away. Galvanized into action, Lacus, Murrue, mom, and I quickly dressed the children while Father Malchio kept his ears open for sounds of approaching footsteps.

After we finished, we made our way towards the shelter. As we approached the stairs that would take us upwards and towards the back of the house, Murrue started barking orders again.

"Get away from the windows and hurry to the shelter!"

"Hai."

Then she turned and began firing out of the windows at something I hadn't seen, nearly scaring the children senseless. We all held our collective breath for a moment until Lacus of all people spoke up.

"We'll be fine. Now, please hurry."

The children obeyed readily and we continued onward with Murrue covering us as much as she could. As we came to one of the intersections, she caught my gaze with hers as I brought up the rear.

_Protect them. Protect HER._ She nods

_Gotchya_ I nod back.

As I walk away, two of the guys crash through another door down the hall and open fire. She stumbles backwards and lands somewhat awkwardly.

"Murrue-san!"

Despite my overall tendencies, I can't help the thought that pops into my head...

_I wish I had a gun..._

"Hurry!"

I may want to help Murrue, but I know that my immediate concern is the safety of Lacus and the children. Noticing that one of them is right behind me, I reach down and pick him up.

"Let's go!"

I urge them forward, with the boy I picked up almost immediately getting the message and hopping back down so his own legs can carry him. Murrue may be a good shot, but even I know that she won't last forever against a bunch of guys with assault rifles. As the children, Lacus, and I round one of the last corners, I notice two more with silences weapons and they're leaning on the triggers...

"Murrue-san, behind you!"

My warning is heeded and Murrue takes a flying leap, rolling with the impact of her landing and coming to a stop in a crouched position.

_All things aside, THAT was impressive..._

-

Somehow, we all make it to the shelter and now Father Malchio is entering the access code to open the main door as Murrue continues to defend our position. Suddenly, another person emerges from the door directly across the hall.

"Waldfeld-san!"

It's been close to twenty minutes since I last saw him and was beginning to get worried. He and Murrue send a barrage of gunfire towards the invaders and Waldfeld-san slips over as they reload or change places, whichever the case may be.

Father Malchio finally manages to open the door despite his blindness. Lacus kneels down amongst the children, the calm center of a raging storm around the youngsters.

"Now, hurry!"

Andy grabs my shoulder, that same fierce look in his eye as before.

"Hurry! There's quite a number of them!"

A sense of danger floods my mind again and while I have no idea where the danger is coming from, I get a major clue from a most unexpected source...

"I won't accept it! I won't accept it!"

...never before have my senses and reflexes reacted with such clarity, precision, speed, and unity. For the first time in two years, my mind, body, and soul cry out and act as one...

"**_Lacus!"_**

I can literally feel the whoosh of air through my hair as the bullet passes by, missing me by scant inches. As I land on top of her, a flash of pink colors my vision and I respond to Pink-chan's statement...

_I won't accept it. Amen brother..._

Andy and Murrue have dispatched the threat, so I help Lacus to her feet and stay at her side as we enter the shelter and watch the heavy doors slam home.

Murrue collapses to her knees as the tension begins to leave her body for a moment. Andy places a hand on her shoulder in support while I watch Lacus help my mother and Father Malchio calm the children down.

As the three of us discuss this attack, I can barely help or hinder the desire to keep Lacus in my immediate field of vision.

_To think that we...I...came so close to losing her...forever..._

And it was utterly true. If not for Pink-chan, Lacus would be a corpse right now. To say that the thought was extremely unsettling to me would be a vast understatement. On instinct, one of my hands sought out the small treasure I carried in my pocket. Its presence helped to alleviate the tension with me, but it wouldn't go away completely. Something was still wrong...

Seeing Lacus begin to move towards the three of us, my hand subtly left my pocket once more. I didn't want to tackle that problem at the moment; best to leave it until she and I have a little more privacy.

"Kira, Commander Waldfeld, Murrue-san...I was their target, wasn't I?"

_You always were brighter than you seemed Lacus..._

But then the sneak shot had been at HER, so anyone who took a minute to really think it over would probably have come to the same conclusion. Waldfeld-san and Murrue are quiet and although that is all the answer Lacus needs, I slowly draw a breath to let her hear the answer she's expecting, only I never get the chance to...

Tremors now rock the shelter and Waldfeld-san starts moving us all deeper into the shelter as the explosions gradually get closer and closer. Lacus and I run side by side, helping the children along. The explosions fade some, but they are still there. We stop in a room much larger than the previous one and I can only wonder if this meant that Father Malchio's planned shelter was meant for more than just the eleven of us.

Waldfeld-san starts talking again, but I'm hearing very little of it. Lacus and I have somehow ended up in each other's arms and holding hands. As the explosions begin to pause somewhat, my mind begins to function again. Waldfeld-san said they were using mobile suits, and if that's the case...

_What can we do?_

As if he sensed my unspoken question, Waldfeld-san turns towards the two of us.

"Lacus, do you have the keys?"

_WHAT?_ Is my next immediate thought...

"We're opening the door. It can't be helped. Or would you rather have us all quietly die here?"

_Okay, little lost here..._

"No...that's..."

_What the..._ "Lacus..."

Her eyes meet mine. There's something she's trying to tell me. She's never gone against Waldfeld that I can remember, not even during the final battles of the last war...

"Kira."

It's her voice that slams it home for me. I've only rarely heard her voice sound like this while fixing such a gaze on me, but...

_Masaka..._

And suddenly, I notice a large doorway and it all starts to connect. She's afraid of something in particular...and with a sudden realization of her fear, guilt rises up within me. For her fear is that history will repeat itself where I'm concerned.

Something finally connects within me and I turn to face her, finally ready to start down a new path.

"Let me have them...I'll open it."

She looks upon me now with confusion and uncertainty as well as fear.

"No, but this is...!"

She clutches Pink-chan protectively. She's not sure if I'm ready. Given my previous behavior, I can't say I blame her.

"I'll be okay. It'll be okay, Lacus."

Up until a few hours ago, I was still a boy at heart, but no longer. When I realized that she might die, will still die if I don't do something, something inside me changed. I will no longer be who I was before. It's time to grow into who I will become for the rest of my days...however many that turns out to be.

"Kira."

I take her in my arms as I've often dreamed. Those dreams will never have any hope of measuring up to this feeling inside of me now. I cannot lie to her about this; I have to convince her that I'm ready...

"It'd hurt me a lot more to not be able to protect you all."

"Kira..."

Her eyes meet mine and I smile slightly at her, letting her make the final decision. I feel more certain about this now than ever before. I WANT to protect her as she has protected me for some time now.

"So please, ... let me have the keys."

My heart nearly breaks as her eyes brim with tears left unshed.

_Please Lacus, trust me._

She taps the side of Pink-chan in a very specific rhythm and pattern that I can't begin to make sense out of.

"Why the heck?" Pink-chan responds.

The line I had always suspected was a mouth pops open, revealing two keys; one gold and one silver. I remove them from Pink-chan and then gently place my hand on the back of Lacus's head before bringing my forehead to meet hers. I hold her in the embrace for a few moments before I whisper in a voice only she and I can hear...

"Thank you."

-

"3...2...1...!"

I turn the key at Waldfeld-san's command and the massive door opens on well oiled tracks. A dark cavern can be seen beyond until the door opens fully and several floodlights switch on.

It's just as I expected for the past few minutes. Lacus somehow had my old suit rebuilt. I should be surprised to see it, but I'm not. I should feel nervous, but I don't. Its presence should be disturbing to me ... but it isn't.

_Freedom_

Waldfeld-san and I nod at each other. We both know what's at stake and what will happen if I fail. I walk towards my old mobile suit, ready to do what must be done.

As I hear the hanger door close behind me, I am struck by how the Freedom and I have been in a similar situation; both of us having slept for two years in the deep places of the world. But no more; the earth-bound dwarves have delved too deeply in their greed for more power and have awakened a sleeping dragon. And now they will suffer the dragon's wrath...

-

Kira lowered his rifle. All five suits had been suitably dismembered with every pilot still alive for possible interrogation by Andy and Murrue.

_I will find out who threatened Lacus and then..."_

Kira's train of thought was cut off as the mobile suit which had been defeated last suddenly blew up in front of him. Slightly stunned Kira watched as the other four suits followed its example.

_These guys were serious._

Kira's hand once more sought out the plastic-covered velvet bag and removed it from his pocket. Taking the velvet bag from the plastic one, he untied the drawstring and dumped the bag's contents into his other waiting palm.

The platinum band was still in pristine condition, as was its matching silver necklace that he wore it on in the final days of the previous war. He examined it briefly until Torii landed on his shoulder, drawing his attention to the approaching sunrise...

-

Lacus had run ahead of the others, who were taking their time with a more leisurely walk towards the Freedom. She found its pilot sitting at the mobile suit's feet, stretched out as if napping. She noticed the smile that timidly formed as she sat down next to him.

They remained silent for a few more moments, both simply taking comfort from each other's presence. Lacus finally spoke up.

"What now, Kira?"

"Eh?"

"What do we do now?"

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself while still being mindful of how far up her dress was riding. Kira sat up and put an arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him as he did so.

"We take things one day at a time and see how far this goes..."

She laid her head on his shoulder and made a small noise that sounded like a cross between a hum and a purr, acknowledging Kira's statement with her own unspoken affirmation...

_Hai. I can do that._

Each of them realized that something had indeed changed, seemingly overnight. Yet both of them were still troubled by what lay before them. Their time of peace was over and open war was upon them.

However, for Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, the first tentative steps had been taken towards something much greater, and that was the most important thing.

Whatever happened from this day forward, they would face it as best they could...together.

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finis

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Disclaimer: Gundam Seed Destiny and all events, characters, and concepts within are wholly the property of Sunrise, Bandai, and any other companies involved in their production that are not listed here. This is a piece of fictional work written solely for the purpose of entertainment and no intention for marketing. I make no money for doing any of this work, but I would like it if readers would review it and drop me some constructive criticism should they feel it necessary.


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